The epic floodwaters across thousands of square miles create new and dangerous crises in an instant. Fires are fought without hydrants. A squadron of helicopters swoops in to transport hospital patients. An entire city wakes up to no running water. Blocks of empty homes need to be searched again.

Among the throngs of disaster workers: Police officers and firefighters, Coast Guard rescue swimmers and FEMA aid specialists, nurses and doctors, troops who have seen battle and volunteers who cannot stay away. Sleep is something they used to do.

Houston

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Woman

“I'm sorry.”

U.S. Border Patrol Agent

“No, No. Don't be sorry.”

U.S. Border Patrol Agent

“Hold on!”

U.S. Border Patrol Agent

“Here, we are going to put the lifevest on you first.”

U.S. Border Patrol Agent

“I got you. I got you.”

“Snap it.”

Woman

“Ok.”

U.S. Border Patrol Agent

“Are you alright?”

Woman

“I'm freezing.”

U.S. Border Patrol Agent

“Try to climb in this. I will push you up. Alright? One, two, three. Do you feel better? Are you ok?”

Houston

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TOBY RANNIGAN
Rescue volunteer

“Does anybody need help?”

“This is ridiculous. Does anybody need help?”

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TOBY RANNIGAN
Rescue volunteer

“Everybody, they’re wanting us to go in and get their medicine, or bring them back to get their personal belongings.”

“And then we have people calling that have animals, that have friends, that have loved ones that are stuck. And then we get there, and then they don’t want to leave because they have animals.”

“It’s tough out here right now.”

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RESCUE VOLUNTEER

“How many people?”

WOMAN

“One elderly, three kids and a dog.”

RESCUE VOLUNTEER

“Do you need us to help?”

WOMAN

“Yes”

RESCUE VOLUNTEER

“One, two, three. Alright, good ride.”

WOMAN

“Good ride.”

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FIREFIGHTER

“Just waiting for water right now.”

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JAY DILLON
Senior captain, Houston Fire Department

“We were dispatched to a house on fire, and it was surrounded by three foot of water.”

“We had a little bit of difficulty when we initially got in here. The only thing we could do was connect the hose directly to the fire hydrant, which was under water.”

“What has been hard for me is that all my friends that live in this area are struggling.”

“That is what has been hard, dealing with the suffering that is going on.”

Many firefighters and police have lost their own homes. A Port Arthur sergeant races off to work in a polo shirt, his uniform lost in the flood. A Houston officer dies on his way to work; the city’s chief breaks down talking about it. Two volunteers drown on their way to a third save, after pulling seven from the waters.

Houston

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DAVID DELEON
Chief of reserves, Harris County Sheriff’s Office

“I live in a neighborhood called Kingwood, and it’s, at least in my home I have five feet of water.”

“And it’s difficult because we’re out here working, and at the same time we have to deal with our personal issues as well.”

“Everything below five foot is going to have to be removed.”

“All my high school yearbooks and, you know, these are things that can’t be replaced, the memories and so forth.”

Houston

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JAY DILLON
Senior captain, Houston Fire Department

“Firefighters and EMTs and police attend to human suffering on a regular basis, and that is a difficult part of the job. It creates a lot of stress for us, but that is why we are here.”

DAVID DELEON
Chief of reserves, Harris County Sheriff’s Office

“Life is going to give you challenges. We’re just going to have to go back and fight those challenges.”

They push their own piercing losses to the back of their minds — and turn to meet the needs of strangers.